Die support with guide posts

ABSTRACT

A die support is provided with a plurality of parallel passages through it, in each of which an end portion of a projecting guide post fits tightly. The end portion of the post is split lengthwise and provided with an inwardly tapered axial socket and with a threaded axis bore extending inwardly from the inner end of the socket. Fitting in the socket is a hollow tapered wedge, in which is rotatably mounted a screw that extends into the threaded bore. Means are provided for holding the screw against axial movement in the wedge so that tightening of the screw will draw the wedge inwardly of the socket to expand the post into tight engagement with the surrounding wall of the passage and loosening of the screw will force the wedge outwardly in the socket to permit the post to contract so it can be withdrawn from the passage.

United States Patent Vecchi DIE SUPPORT WITH GUIDE POSTS John C. Vecchi,Natrona Heights, Pa.

Oberg Manufacturing Co., Inc., Freeport, Pa.

Mar. 10, 1971 Inventor:

Assignee:

Filed:

Appl. No.:

I 56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1935 Carrier ..287/20.37/ 1948 Grunow .287/20.3 X 7/1956 Janiszewski ..308/4 C 10/1966Janiszewski .308/4 C [4 1 May 23, 1972 Primary ExaminerBi1ly J. WilhiteAttorney-Brown, Murray, Flick & Peckham [57] ABSTRACT A die support isprovided with a plurality of parallel passages through it, in each ofwhich an end portion of a projecting guide post fits tightly. The endportion of the post is split lengthwise and provided with an inwardlytapered axial socket and with a threaded axis bore extending inwardlyfrom the inner end of the socket. Fitting in the socket is a hollowtapered wedge, in which is rotatably mounted a screw that extends intothe threaded bore. Means are provided for holding the screw againstaxial movement in the wedge so that tightening of the screw will drawthe wedge inwardly of the socket to expand the post into tightengagement with the surrounding wall of the passage and loosening of thescrew will force the wedge outwardly in the socket to permit the post tocontract so it can be withdrawn from the passage.

5 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures .1

Patented May 23, 1972 INVENTOR uZUfiV C VEZZWU Wimp ATTORNEYS DIESUPPORT WITH GUIDE POSTS Dies are often made from two sections that aremovable toward and away from each other in a straight line. These diesections carry die members that perform the desired operations on thematerial placed between them. To assure perfect registry of the dies asthey come together, one of the die sections is provided with parallelguide posts that slide in passages in the other die section. The guideposts must be very accurately positioned in the support that holds them,so screw thread connections between the posts and support generally arenot satisfactory. Instead, the end of each post in the die support issplit lengthwise and a wedge is driven into the split to expand the posttightly against the surrounding wall. This system is all right until itbecomes necessary or desirable to remove the guide posts from theirsupport. At such a time the removal of the wedges from the posts becomesa difficult task.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a die section inwhich guide posts are accurately and firmly mounted in a support, inwhich the posts can be quickly secured in the support, and in which thepost can quickly and easily be removed from the support.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side view,partly broken away in section, of two die supports movably connected byguide posts;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan view; and

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the guide post assembly.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawings, one guide post 1 out of several isshown rigidly mounted in an upper die support 2 and slidably mounted ina passage 3 through a lower die support 4. The die members themselves,which are mounted on the opposed faces of the two supports, are notshown. The upper end portion of the guide post is disposed in a verticalpassage through the upper die support. Preferably, this passage is linedwith a sleeve 6 that fits tightly in it and forms a part of the support.The axis of the sleeve is exactly parallel to like sleeves in otherpost-receiving passages of the same support. The portion of the guidepost within the support is machined to fit the inside of the sleevesnugly, but not so tightly that it cannot be inserted in and removedfrom the sleeve without much difficulty. The upper end of the guide postalso is provided with an axial socket 7 that is tapered downwardly orinwardly slightly. From the bottom of the socket a threaded axial bore 8extends downwardly below the die support. The side wall of the socket issplit lengthwise so that the end portion of the post in the support canbe expanded radially. The splitting can be accomplished by providing thepost with vertical slots 9. Two diametrically opposite slots have beenfound to be sufficient.

It is a feature of this invention that a hollow tapered wedge 11 isslidably disposed in the post socket and is spaced from the lower end ofthe socket. A screw 12'is rotatably mounted in the wedge and extends outof its lower end and down into threaded bore 8. Means are provided forholding the screw against axial movement in the wedge so that when thescrew is tightened, which means when it is screwed down further into thepost, the wedge will be drawn down into the socket to expand the postinto tight engagement with the surrounding sleeve. On the other hand,when the screw is loosened by turning it in the opposite direction, thewedge will be forced upwardly in the socket. This will allow the splitportion of the guide post to contract so that it can be removed from thedie support easily.

To hold the screw against axial movement in the wedge, the upper orouter end of the wedge may be provided with a socket 14 having a radialshoulder 15 at its inner or lower end engaged by the head of the screw.The top of the head is spaced below the top of the wedge. The side wallof the wedge socket above the screw is provided with a screw threaded,and a hollow socket screw plug 16 is screwed into the wedge and nearlyinto engagement with the head of the screw, so that it barely touchesthe head. In order to turn the screw, its head is provided with a smallsocket 17 for receiving a wrench, and to permit the wrench to beinserted and rotated, the wrenchreceiving openin I8 throu h the screwplug is larger than head socket 117. he wrenc for the screw t ereforecan be rotated in the screw plug without turning the plug. The pitch ofthe thread around the screw plug is different than the pitch of thethread on the screw, so the plug is not affected by the pressureexertedagainst it while the screw is being turned to loosen it in thepost.

It will be seen that with this arrangement the guide post can be quicklyand firmly mounted in the upper die support by simply tightening thescrew to draw down the wedge and expand the post. In order to remove thepost from the support, all that needs to be done is to loosen the screwby reversing its rotation, which will cause it to push upwardly on thescrew plug and thereby force the wedge upwardly in the post socket. Thiswill allow the split portion of the post to contract enough to releaseits tight grip on the die support. The post then can be pulled or pushedout of the upper die support.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained theprinciple of my invention and have illustrated and described what I nowconsider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have itunderstood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated anddescribed.

I claim:

1. A die section comprising a die support provided with a plurality ofparallel passages therethrough, a guide post projecting from eachpassage and having an end portion fitting snugly therein, said endportion being split lengthwise and provided with an inwardly taperedaxial socket and with a threaded axial bore extending inwardly from theinner end of the socket, a hollow tapered wedge fitting in the socket, ascrew rotatably mounted in the wedge and extending therefrom into saidthreaded bore, and means holding the screw against axial movement in thewedge, whereby tightening of the screw draws the wedge inwardly of thesocket to expand the post into tight engagement with the surroundingwall of the passage, and loosening of the screw forces the wedgeoutwardly in the socket to permit the post to contract so it can bewithdrawn from the passage.

2. A die section according to claim 1, in which the inside of the outerend portion of the wedge is provided with a screw thread, and saidholding means include means limiting movement of the screw inwardly ofthe wedge, and a screw plug screwed into the outer end of the wedge intoengagement with the outer end of the screw, the screw plug having anaxial passage therethrough giving access to the outer end of said screwto permit it to be turned in the wedge.

3. A die section according to claim 2, in which the pitch of the threadin the wedge is different from the pitch of the thread in the post sothat engagement of the screw with the plug during loosening of the screwwill not turn the plug.

4. A die section according to claim 1, in which the inside of the wedgeis enlarged at its outer end to provide a radial shoulder at the innerend of the enlargement, the wall of the outer end portion of theenlargement is provided with a screw thread, and said holding meansinclude a head on the screw engaging said shoulder and spaced inwardlyfrom the outer end of the wedge, and a screw plug screwed into the outerend of the wedge into engagement with said head, the screw plug havingan axial passage therethrough giving access to the screw head to permitit to be turned in the wedge.

5. A die section according to claim 4, in which the screw head isprovided with a tool-receiving socket, and said plug passage is largerthan said head socket to permit a tool that is inserted through saidpassage and into the head socket to turn the screw without turning theplug.

1. A die section comprising a die support provided with a plurality ofparallel passages therethrough, a guide post projecting from eachpassage and having an end portion fitting snugly therein, said endportion being split lengthwise and provided with an inwardly taperedaxial socket and with a threaded axial bore extending inwardly from theinner end of the socket, a hollow tapered wedge fitting in the socket, ascrew rotatably mounted in the wedge and extending therefrom into saidthreaded bore, and means holding the screw against axial movement in thewedge, whereby tightening of the screw draws the wedge inwardly of thesocket to expand the post into tight engagement with the surroundingwall of the passage, and loosening of the screw forces the wedgeoutwardly in the socket to permit the post to contract so it can bewithdrawn from the passage.
 2. A die section according to claim 1, inwhich the inside of the outer end portion of the wedge is provided witha screw thread, and said holding means include means limiting movementof the screw inwardly of the wedge, and a screw plug screwed into theouter end of the wedge into engagement with the outer end of the screw,the screw plug having an axial passage therethrough giving access to theouter end of said screw to permit it to be turned in the wedge.
 3. A diesection according to claim 2, in which the pitch of the thread in thewedge is different from the pitch of the thread in the post so thatengagement of the screw with the plug during loosening of the screw willnot turn the plug.
 4. A die section according to claim 1, in which theinside of the wedge is enlarged at its outer end to provide a radialshoulder at the inner end of the enlargement, the wall of the outer endportion of the enlargement is provided with a screw thread, and saidholding means include a head on the screw engaging said shoulder andspaced inwardly from the outer end of the wedge, and a screw plugscrewed into the outer end of the wedge into engagement with said head,the screw plug having an axial passage therethrough giving access to thescrew head to permit it to be turned in the wedge.
 5. A die sectionaccording to claim 4, in which the screw head is provided with atool-receiving socket, and said plug passage is larger than said headsocket to permit a tool that is inserted through said passage and intothe head socket to turn the screw without turning the plug.